LAHORE, Mar 20 (APP): Punjab Minister for Higher Education Raja Yasir Humayun said on Saturday that backlog of waste fromthe provincial capital would be cleared in a week.
Addressing a press conference along with Special Assistant to Punjab Chief Minister on Information Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan, he said that hired machinery would be utilized for clearing the waste backlog.
He said that an agreement was signed with foreign companies regarding cleanliness of Lahore, under which companies were bound to handover machinery to the government after completion of the agreement.
He said that on last moment some changes were made in the agreement, however, the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) was looking into the matter. He said that dispute was created over machinery due to which problems were arising.
The Minister lauded the Lahore Waste Management Company (LWMC) for clearing garbage heap near Arfa Karim Tower.
He said that at a cost of Rs 4 billion, 915 new vehicles would be procured and the procurement process would be completed in six months.
Raja Yasir Humayun said the procurement of new vehicles would prove to be long term solution to manage waste of the city in a proper way.
Regarding private housing schemes, he said that housing schemes were responsible to manage their waste on their own but they dump their waste at dumping sites of LWMC.
He said that a project could have been started to convert waste into energy but previous government did nothing in this regard.
He further said that 6000 containers, uniform and safety gear for staff were being purchased, whereas, vigilance department had also been created.
Special Assistant to CM Dr Firdous Ashiq Awan said the agreement with the foreign companies was signed in dollars and whenever the value of dollar increased it put burden on national exchequer.
She said that Lahore waste could be utilized for meeting the electricity needs of the metropolis. She said the incumbent government had taken the responsibility of cleaning Lahore with local management, local machinery and local currency.